Struggling with Car Upholstery Cleaning?

Posted on
10May 2016 Author: Jane Stevens

Maintaining the inside of your car clean and fresh at all times goes a long way in ensuring your comfort and enjoyment of the ride. After all, what better way to feel good in your vehicle than to give it a proper and much needed clean?

Cleaning the interior of your car is not the same as the home cleaning you may be so used to. It takes a different approach and some specialised tools you may need to acquire for the best results. If you are unsure of how to proceed, read on the following tips. They will guide you through the process so that the next time you want to refresh your car interior you know how to do so.

- The first step is to vacuum - vacuuming the interior before doing anything else is very important. That way you will take care of dirt and other solid debris that are present. It is a mandatory step, as applying water or any liquid to such dirty areas will only make the dirt much more difficult to clean. There is a real danger of embedding it deeper into the car upholstery and that could be a disaster. Don’t forget to vacuum tight spots as well, because dirt and dust tends to find their way there as well.

- Select a specialised car upholstery cleaning solution - one very important step in the process is to pick and apply a good solution to the vacuumed areas of your car. Take your time to select the best upholstery cleaner, because not all materials are created equal. What works in one case may be very inappropriate or even lead to damage.

- Follow the instructions on the product - this mostly concern method of application and quantity. You don’t want to overdo it with the product or leave it on the car upholstery more than needed.

- Wipe down carefully - the goal is to leave no cleaning agent on the car seats as it can permanently stain the upholstery. A good tool you can use is chamois leather.

- Wet the chamois leather - the goal is to have slightly damp chamois leather - not saturated with water, as that way the cleaning job will be more thorough. Do not saturate the upholstery with water, as it will be more difficult to dry that way and there is a threat of mould and mildew developing there.

- Dry the car upholstery naturally - do not introduce a heat dryer or anything like that to your car interior! This can crackle leather upholstery or damage it some other way. Instead, open up the doors and let it dry out naturally. If you have followed the previous step properly, the upholstery clean would not have introduced that much water anyway.

- Clean with laundry detergent - laundry detergent has been proven as an effective tool against soiled car upholstery. The way you utilise this cleaning method is by filling up a spray bottle with warm water and one tbsp of detergent. Have another spray bottle with water on the ready. Spray with the water/detergent; focus on the stained surfaces more. Scrub with a clean cotton towel and then rinse with water from the second spray bottle. Leave the upholstery to dry and enjoy its fresh new look.

- Keep leather upholstery clean longer - keeping the car interior clean should be your priority. Treating seats with a moisturising and conditioning product every few months or so goes a long way in ensuring that it is well protected against sunlight, heat and spills.

Clean the interior of your car often if you want a pleasant ride. Now you know the best car upholstery cleaning methods and can easily perform the task.